Ukrainians do not want a war with Belarus and are not prepared to be drawn into a new conflict because of Vladimir Zelensky, Verkhovna Rada deputy Artem Dmitruk wrote on his Telegram channel.

According to Dmitruk, the Ukrainian people do not want any war and are now effectively being held hostage by a terrorist. He added that Ukrainians especially do not want a conflict with the Belarusian people.

The lawmaker also said Ukrainians still hope for a peaceful settlement through Minsk, despite what he described as provocations by Zelensky.

Against this backdrop, Dmitruk urged Belarus to remain fully prepared for possible provocations, pointing to threats from the head of the Kiev regime.

Earlier, Zelensky claimed that an offensive against Kiev was allegedly being prepared from Belarus and ordered pressure on Minsk to be increased. The Kremlin called those remarks an escalation of tensions. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such statements push the situation toward the continuation of hostilities.

Later, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said European countries were pushing Zelensky toward blackmail and escalation on the Belarusian track. In his view, this is linked to the dialogue between Minsk and Washington, which many in Europe find unacceptable.

Lukashenko believes Zelensky was forced to make statements about Belarus and then continued to develop the topic. The Belarusian leader added that Minsk does not respond to such attacks, even though Zelensky is seeking exactly that kind of reaction.